UNDP Iraq launched a report on Women’s Economic Empowerment in Iraq, Integrating Women in the Iraqi Economy.
The report describes the challenges and opportunities to women’s employment in the Iraqi economy. It provides 12 case studies drawn from women’s economic empowerment interventions throughout Iraq to shed light on these issues.
The report finally makes a series of recommendations to the Government of Iraq, the International Community, the civil society and the Private Sector on how to better engage women in the economy of Iraq.
Key Findings:
- Under the 2005 Iraqi Constitution, women enjoy equal rights to employment without discrimination, but certain discriminatory elements remain within Iraqi law, which delineates women’s economic choices.
- Female heads of households and various other vulnerable groups of Iraqi women: the poor, the unemployed, the widows, the internally displaced and the physically challenged lack access to financial resources and social benefits like social security, pensions, and food distributed through the Iraqi government’s Public Distribution System.
- Certain assumptions exist within the Iraqi tax code, Personal Status Code and Penal Code about the roles of men and women hindering women’s inclusion in the Iraqi economy.
- Women in Iraq develop a complex web of personal relationships with their parents, brothers, spouse, children and neighbours.
- The breakdown of the social security network due to sanctions, conflicts, civil strife and the decline of the rule of law has impacted many women.
- Restrictions have loosened, in recent years, on Civil Society activities which may make it easier for women to be included in businesses and ventures.
- There are indications of a rising numbers of impoverished female heads of households which spurred the development of various civil society initiatives to empower women economically.
- A number of initiatives were undertaken aimed to break through social barriers, making women better communicators and enabling them to better surmount cultural and family opposition to women working.
To read the full report on women’s economic empowerment please click here
http://www.iq.undp.org/Items/Uploads/121/IQ%20Women%20EE%20-%20Final.pdf
For more information, please contact Anou Borrey, anou.borrey@undp.org